As the sun set Saturday, emergency and road crews across western and central Kansas continued to work on digging towns and motorists out of the snow.

Edie Ross - The Hutchinson News - eross@hutchnews.com

Sunday

Mar 29, 2009 at 12:01 AMMar 29, 2009 at 6:00 PM

And local officials continued to urge residents to stay off the roads for another day, as churches and other organizations canceled today's activities.

Stay home

A springtime blizzard that claimed at least two lives moved across Kansas on Friday and Saturday, dumping upward of 30 inches of snow in some places. Official snowfall for Reno County came to a foot in the eastern portion and 18 to 20 inches in the western portion.

Hutchinson received 18 inches with 4-plus-foot drifts, said Leon Wasinger, a National Weather Service forecaster out of Wichita.

The blizzard prompted Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Saturday morning to sign a declaration of disaster emergency covering 62 counties, including Reno County, and allowing state resources and personnel to help local officials deal with damage from the storm.

Snow began to melt in Hutchinson on Saturday afternoon, making plowing more difficult and raising concerns that with below-freezing temperatures Saturday night, today's sun would rise over slick conditions.

Reno County Sheriff Randy Henderson and Emergency Management Director Bill Guy urged residents to stay at home and off the streets again today.

"People need to stay off the roads as much as possible on Sunday," Guy said Saturday. "Don't go out looking around to see what is going on. We're asking people to limit travel to essential and emergency trips and otherwise stay at home until things get cleaned up."

Guy added that he believes it will take a couple of days before streets are drivable for the average motorist.

"The side streets have a lot of snow and people have gone down them, so there are ruts," he said. "But smaller cars will still get hung up. Travel will be difficult for a few days."

Saturday

The storm claimed its first Reno County casualty Saturday morning when paramedics were unable to reach an Arlington man who experienced chest pains while shoveling snow.

Ambulances and first responders were dispatched but because of nearly impassable roads were unable to reach the man in time, Henderson said.

The man, who was not identified Saturday, died waiting for first responders.

"I'm not sure if it would have made a difference if we had been able to get there quicker, but it could have," Henderson said.

The fatality was just one example of the maddening situation the large snow accumulation and even larger drifts caused local law enforcement Friday night and Saturday.

Henderson said county four-wheel-drive pickups and even public works trucks were stuck numerous times overnight while officers attempted to reach stranded motorists.

Six such people - stranded around 11 p.m. Friday near Fourth Avenue and Brownlee Street - were unable to be reached until 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Henderson said.

More motorists found themselves stranded Saturday morning when they ventured out and got stuck.

Their presence slowed crews' work to clear roads and also hindered emergency vehicles' ability to access certain parts of town.

Early Saturday afternoon, Kansas National Guard Humvees were deployed to Reno County to help law enforcement reach stranded motorists.

The Kansas Highway Patrol also joined the search for stranded motorists, completing an aerial search of Kingman, Kiowa, Pratt, Reno and Rice counties.

Hutchinson did not experience any sustained power outages, but about 400 were without power Saturday afternoon in Pretty Prairie.

The Kansas Adjutant General's Office reported Saturday morning that 17,000 people were without power because of the storm, more than half of those in Sedgwick County.

Saturday afternoon, as the snow began to melt, other problems arose locally.

The melting snow caused added weight to rooftops, and at least two businesses' roofs collapsed.

Around 4 p.m., crews were being sent to check on a possible third collapse at the old Kansas Truck Center at the Junction of U.S. 50 and East K-61.

No injuries were reported.

Despite the sunshine, travelers in southwest Kansas trying to reach Hutchinson or Wichita on Saturday weren't likely to make it according to a Kansas Department of Transportation official.

"This has been quite a storm," Ron Hall said.

While the sun was out and snow was melting around the area, U.S. 50, U.S. 54 and U.S. 160 remained closed according to Hall, a KDOT district maintenance engineer, responsible for highways in 19 counties from Ness County southwest to the state line.

The eastbound lane of U.S. 50 remained closed at Dodge City because there was nowhere to go once travelers reached Kinsley - the highways were still snow-packed.

While Hall said roads were quickly clearing Saturday afternoon, travelers heading into the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle were out of luck because those highways also were closed, according to Hall.

Travelers heading west or north were good to go. But those heading east or south were stuck.

Reporter Kathy Hanks contributed to this story.

See a snow slide show at hutchnews.com/ slideshows

Closings and postponements

HIGHWAYS

Most highways in southwest Kansas were open and clear by 8 p.m. Saturday.

Highways U.S. 83, U.S. 283 and K-23 remain closed southbound at the Kansas/Oklahoma state line; U.S. 54/400 remained closed eastbound at Mullinville.

U.S. 160 remained closed between Meade and U.S. 283.

U.S. 160 was closed east of U.S. 183.

U.S. 50 remained closed eastbound at Offerle.

K-94 (Clark State Lake Road) remained closed in Ford and Clark counties.

There may be blowing snow across some roads overnight. Please call 511 before traveling.

Events

Dodge City, "The Living Last Supper," postponed until 6:30 p.m. today.

Great Bend American Legion Post 180 events canceled.

Hutchinson Women's Show postponed until noon to 5 p.m. today.

Hutchinson Quarterback Club all-star basketball game canceled.

Newton Recreation Commission youth soccer games canceled.

Pratt Community College closed until Monday.

Pratt Knights of Columbus fish fry postponed to 4 to 6 p.m. today.

Salthawk Archery Club's shoot is canceled.

South Hutchinson Our Lady of Guadalupe Bingo canceled.

Closings announced as of 5 p.m. Saturday. See hutchnews.com for the latest information.

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